Maryland Volleyball continued its winning ways out west, as the Terps won two of their three matchups over the weekend at the Aztec Classic.

Maryland entered the weekend at 4-2 after their loss to South Florida on September 3rd. The Terps’ defense has been productive through the year. 

The defense ranked second in the N.C.A.A. in blocks per set. One of the defense’s contributors, Rainelle Jones, ranked second in the N.C.A.A. in total blocks with 42. 

Maryland looked to bring that stellar defense into their first matchup of the weekend against the San Diego State Aztecs. For only the fourth time in history, these teams matched up, with the last matchup being in 1998 and resulting in a Terps win. 

The first set started out great for the Terps. They jumped to a 5-0 lead and wouldn’t relinquish it.

Maryland went on to win the set 25-14 behind a stellar performance from Sam Csire.

Csire totaled six kills, and a .545 hitting percentage.

The Terps came out flat to start the second set, falling to an early deficit of 3-1. Maryland continued to battle, eventually grabbing an 11-10 lead. That lead wouldn’t hold as the Aztecs would win the set, 25-21.

The third set started out with both teams going on 3-0 scoring runs. San Diego State eventually broke out to a 13-9 lead, and it looked like they were in control. 

The Terps had other plans as they battled back in the set, keeping it close. Maryland caught fire at the end, sparking a 6-0 scoring run that won them the set, 25-20.

Csire started the fourth set with back-to-back kills, and Maryland jumped  to an early lead. 

The lead grew to 16-10, and it seemed to be all Terps in the set. San Diego State had an answer as they battled all the way back to make it close. Maryland closed out the set, winning their first match of the day.

After the win earlier in the day, the attention turned to their second Friday opponent, the Sacramento State Hornets. 

The Hornets came into the matchup after losing to Arizona earlier in the day. The Terps and the Hornets had only two prior meetings in their program’s history, with both sides owning one win.

The first set was a close one. 

The Terps’ offense had a good showing, but the defense put them over the top in the set. Maryland won the set 25-17.  Anastasia Russ led the way with three kills and two total blocks.

Sacramento State was firing in the second set, as they quickly gained an early lead. The Terps fought back to close the gap, but the Hornets never gave up the lead. Sacramento State won the set, 25-23, despite a late scoring run by the Terps.

The Terps took control in the third set due to a 5-0 run that helped them take an 8-4 lead. Sacramento State went on a 7-0 run of their own to take the lead from Maryland. The Terps’ deficit continued to grow after multiple Maryland attacking errors.

The Terps continued to battle through, and they eventually tied it late. The Terps continued to fight, digging deep to score six straight points to win the set, 25-22.

The fourth set was a battle of will.

 The teams quickly answered points that were scored by the opposition, the largest lead being just four points. The set was close until the Terps scored two unanswered points to win the match, 28-26. 

Friday featured exciting moments for the Terps. Multiple players tallied career highs on the day. Erin Engel and Milan Gomillion each recorded career highs in aces with four and five.

“I totally think last year I can admit I was a bit more nervous just because being a freshman, starting playing that important role as libero, but I think I definitely went at it this year, I had no fear, no worry,” said Gomillion.

Laila Ricks tallied a career-high 11 kills, and Freshman Laila Ivey added to her impressive freshman campaign earning a career-high 13 kills. All these career highs supplied the Terps with good energy and good vibe.

“If I could describe it with one word, I would say electric. I think we feed off each other really, really, really well, and once one person gets going, everybody else wants to join in,” said Gomillion. 

The Terps looked to take those exciting moments and capitalize on their momentum going into their last game of the Aztec Classic. They faced off against Arizona, who came into the matchup after winning both of its Friday matchups. 

Maryland started the first set in a tight battle with Arizona. 

Arizona gained some separation in the set due to a 4-0 scoring run. The Terps were able to battle back, but the Arizona offense proved to be the difference maker as they took the first set 25-22.

The second set started the same way, with Arizona jumping to an early lead. Maryland continued to show their resilience, keeping the score close.. The difference in the set came from Csire when her three-straight kills gave the Terps a 23-21 lead that would eventually become a 25-22 win.

In the third set, both teams went on dueling scoring runs. However, Maryland’s 7-0 run carried them to victory. Maryland won the set, 25-19.

The Terps looked poised to win the fourth set after a torrid 5-0 scoring run to start of the set. Arizona didn’t go away, as they went on their own scoring run and eventually grabbed a 19-12 lead. That lead would hold, and Arizona forced a fifth set. The run came by way of Maryland mistakes that opened opportunities for Arizona.

“I thought we were in a good spot in game three and got off to a little bit of a lead 8-4 in the fourth, and you know got a few misserves kind of gave them a window of opportunity and they really kind of capitalized on it,” said Head Coach Adam Hughes. 

The fifth set got off to a poor start for Maryland, falling behind 4-1. That lead would only end up growing for Arizona despite a great effort by the Terps. Maryland lost the set 15-11 continuing a trend of Maryland loses on Saturdays. 

Despite the loss the Terps had a good weekend. Many Terps collected new career and season highs, and in tota,l Maryland had 35 blocks to bolster their impressive defensive resume. Coach Adam Hughes believes there’s positives they can build on going forward. 

“I think underneath of the loss there is moments of growth, obviously, we’re not going to take this as you know, a win, we want the (win) and I feel like we have good enough talent to do it,” said Hughes.

Maryland ends the weekend with a 6-3 record. The Terps will have one more weekend of non-conference play as they travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to play in the Cavalier Classic on September 16.